Peter Burke's Back-up
by robingal1
Summary: Maria Vasquez had been a US Marshall for many years. She had seen more than her share of the "shadier" side of humanity. But today she was witnessing what she would call a "grey area". She watched Neal Caffrey fighting for his partner.


Title: Peter Burke's Back-up  
Author: Robingal1

Unbeta-ed  
Fandom: White Collar  
Rating: K  
Characters: Neal Caffrey, OFC  
Summary: Set after the season finale. Maria Vasquez had been a US Marshall for many years. She had seen more than her share of the "shadier" side of humanity. But today she was witnessing what she would call a "grey area". Neal Caffrey fighting desperately for his partner.

Maria Vasquez had been a US Marshall for many years. She had seen more than her share of the "shadier" side of humanity.  
But today she was witnessing what she would call a "grey area".  
Convicted felon, Neal Caffrey, was not an innocent bystander; but nor was he a despotic villain. Maria had been aware of him for the past few years. She had seen the change in him.  
When she had first escorted Mr. Caffrey from the SuperMax to the FBI, he had been despondent and "shifty". It was never so much the quiet ones that she had to watch; no, it was the smart ones. And Mr. Caffrey was very smart.  
She had been called back several times to the FBI throughout the past few years and began to see the changes. He was much more confident in his new role, he had become generous in more than just his empty complements but in his deeds and honest hard work, and Maria could see the hurt that he carried. Something had changed him, fast. Obviously, Mr. Caffrey was learning that selfish decisions made for painful consequences.  
Tonight however, Maria watched Mr. Caffrey fighting against those consequences. Against injustice. Against selfish decisions. US Marshall Maria Vasquez watched a convicted felon furiously fighting for his handler, SAG Peter Burke.

It was nearing three a.m. and Maria suppressed another yawn. She was standing inside a meeting room inside the White Collar Division of the FBI. She was late shift for the fourth night in a row. The steady patter of the rain was softly beating against the darkened window.  
A light noise from Mr. Caffrey brought her back from her quiet thoughts. Mr. Caffrey was staring at the various print outs and maps of New York again. He had been desperately searching for his father for four days now.  
He didn't look good. His tie was gone; his sleeves had been rolled up and rolled back down multiple times; but his eyes and posture were the most telling. If he had had any sleep for the past several days, it hadn't been on her watch.  
Due to Suspended-Agent Burke's arrest, Mr. Caffrey's status was difficult to define. Obviously not able to roam about freely, but no one under Burke's command could be allowed to be Mr. Caffrey's handler. The newest supervisor had left no clear instructions as to who should take responsibility for Mr. Caffrey. So here Maria stood, at three in the morning, watching a tired, stressed, sad, and desperate felon help with an FBI manhunt for his father.

Day Five: Maria missed Agent Hughes. The man was just a few years older than her. And he was married. But that never stopped the sleek smile she passed his way. She loved watching the man squirm. She missed him. She missed the humor and camaraderie in the White Collar office. His loss was palpable. And so was the desperation reeking from every agent. And one con man.

Day Six: The sun had risen two hours ago. Mr. Caffrey was still in the conference room. He had refused to leave the office. He had not stopped hunting his father. And he looked like every hour had been painful.  
Maria wished the windows would open; he was starting to smell. He had, after Agent Jones "insisted", taken a short trip to the building gym and showered. Maria was careful to stay with Mr. Caffrey, but she let the man have his modicum of privacy.  
That was yesterday; perhaps she should call for Agent Jones…  
A grunt-like sound caught her attention. "Diana!" he called down the stairs.  
Within moments an equally tired woman strode into the room. "What'd you find?"  
"Here. Next to the electric plant on the eastside. There are several pre-war buildings and enough tree coverage to sneak in and out. He's making his way to the shipping yard."  
"You're sure?"  
Mr. Caffrey paused. "No. But I don't where else to look. If it were me, if I only had the few resources that he has, then that's where I would go. I just…"  
The Agent stared at Mr. Caffrey, _hard_. "You're done."  
"What? NO! Diana, you can't! I need to get him! He has to go down! I have to-" He was interrupted by his sudden shortness of breath. He grabbed for the table. After a few tense moments, Diana leaned her hip against the table, near his hand.  
"This is one of those times, Caffrey. One of those few times where I go against my better judgment and trust you. Am I going to regret this, Caffrey?"  
In a very quiet and rasping voice, Mr. Caffrey responded, "No. I'll stay in the van. I just need to be there. Please."

Day Seven: Or eight, honestly, Maria had lost track. Her shift was nearly done. Another Marshall would soon replace her and she would be collapsing face first into the nearest pillow.  
She had been in the van with Mr. Caffrey. There had been shots fired. It was a long and difficult take down. Just because they were outside of the action and in the van, didn't mean it wasn't stressful.  
Mr. Caffrey puked, twice.

Day Nine? Maria was late. She had trouble finding the hospital room. She came and stood next to Marshall Bandel. He was ready to leave and glad for the relief. Everyone was tired. Everyone was glad this was over.  
Mr. Caffrey stood at the foot of the bed. Bandel leaned and whispered, "He hadn't moved in hours. He just stands there, staring down at him." Bendel motioned at the man lying in the hospital bed.  
Maria nodded. Mr. James Bennett had been brought down in an attempt to suicide-by-cop. But thanks to the efforts of several people, he would be on trial within a month. He would likely never walk without the help of a cane, but SuperMax wasn't that scenic a place to walk around anyway.  
The doctors were confident that he would be awake within the hour.  
Mr. Caffrey however was wide awake. His eyes bloodshot, his beard unkempt, and his breathing slow but unsteady all gave signs to a very miserable man forcing himself to look at something horrible. If Mr. Caffrey had slept, it was filled with terror and nightmares.  
A sudden increase in the heart monitor brought everyone attention to the man on the bed. Mr. Bennett was waking up.  
Bandel excused himself to get a nurse.  
When he came back, a nurse, a doctor, and Mrs. Burke all come into the increasingly crowded room.  
The doctor and nurse went to Mr. Bennett, while Mrs. Burke went to Agent Jones, who was standing in the corner, looking for something to shoot. "Tell me he's not getting out. Tell me that he's going to jail. Tell me that my husband is coming home." Her voice never wavered. She was made of such strength that Maria wondered if she were a former agent.  
Agent Jones looked down. "Without a confession, Bennett will go away for many things, but there's no guarantee that Peter…"  
Mr. Bennett cried out low and in pain. After the expected medical examination was complete, Agent Jones moved in to interrogate. He was cut off.  
Mr. Caffrey drew himself upright and began reciting in a rasping voice every deed Suspended-Agent Burke had done for him.  
It was a long speech. No one interrupted. Mr. Bennett's breath caught several times. Whether from shame or the ventilator, Maria couldn't say.  
There was a long silence afterwards. No one moved. Mr. Caffrey's fists were clenched by his sides, so were Mr. Bennett's. Mr. Caffrey looked down on his father, judging, damning.  
A few breaths later, Mr. Bennett confessed to shooting the Senator.  
Maria saw tears escape from Mr. Bennett's eyes, but if from shame or pain, she didn't know.  
It was a short confession, but effective.  
Mrs. Burke moved to the bedside of a fast fading Mr. Bennett. "You are worthless. You are never to speak to us. You will not come near my family again." She turned and slowly left the room. Her husband would be released from prison soon, to fight another battle, another long series of nights with no sleep, but he would be fighting them by her side, from their home. Maria was certain then that in not in this life, then in some other life, Mrs. Burke was a vicious former warrior.  
The nurse began to leave as well. "Nurse?" said Mr. Caffrey. "He's an escape risk. Make sure to place an anklet on him." He then left the room, slowly walking with his head down and his eyes closed.  
Maria followed. Mrs. Burke was at the elevator bank. No one said anything. The elevator finally arrived with a quiet chime.  
Mr. Caffrey hadn't moved, hadn't made his way inside the elevator, instead, he just sort of folded in on himself and collapsed to the floor.

Day Ten: Mr. Caffrey slept. The oxygen being slowly forced into him causing his chest to rise and fall.

Day Eleven: Mr. Caffrey slept. The nurse had told Maria that he had been delirious for most of the day. His fever was still not down.

Day Twelve: Mr. Bennett had somehow sweet talked and conned his way into being left alone for only a few minutes. But that's all it took. He removed his IV, blew air into the tube, and soon died painfully. Mr. Caffrey slept, fevered and crying out.

Day Thirteen: Maria stood outside, but still able to see into the always open door, to Mr. Caffrey's hospital room. Mr. and Mrs. Burke had entered an hour ago. Mr. Caffrey's fever had dissipated, but he was weak, malnourished, and, as his doctor stated, cranky.  
No one had yet told him about his father's death; no one wanted to.  
The whole of the White Collar Division had a lengthy fight against them. However, US Marshall Maria Vasquez had been a Marshall for many years. Her hair was graying, her hearing was dimming, but her eyes were just fine. She had seen more than her share of the "shadier" side of humanity. But today, she saw the lighter side. A close team, a hurting team, but a family too. Built on trust and reforming con men.

~fin~


End file.
